In Strange Woods - Claire Cray Page 0,57

then froze in complete and total shock.

What the fuck?

Domino was standing at the end of the bridge by James’s car, dressed in chinos, Nikes, and a Patagonia fleece zip-up, hands in his pockets. His short brown hair, normally neatly waxed into place, was loose and windblown. He looked tired, strung-out, and thinner than usual, his gym-honed muscles no longer filling out his clothes. “Hey, James.”

For several seconds James could only stare with his mouth hanging open. When he finally spoke, he had to raise his voice over the sound of the stream rushing beneath them. “Domino?”

“Been trying to call you, bro.” Domino’s eyes were wide and bleary, like he’d been awake for way too long. “No choice but to track you down the old-fashioned way.”

James still couldn’t compute. “How did you find me here?”

“Saw you getting gas this morning in Port Orton.” Domino stepped onto the bridge. “Pure luck. I thought I’d have to check every hotel.”

James tensed, uneasy with the weirdness of the situation. What was it Hunter had said? If anything feels off, even if you don’t know why, get outta there. What else? Stay close to your car. Oh, and something about having a godawful feeling.

Damn. He really needed to start listening to Hunter.

“Why, though?” James insisted.

“Uh, it’s pretty fucked up.” Domino sniffed and took one hand out of his pocket to rub his nose, looking up and down the stream. He shoved his hand back into his pocket, tense and fidgety in a way James had never seen him—tweaking, he realized warily as Domino took another step. “You know, James, it’s complicated.”

Millions of dollars stolen. Gambling problem. Anger problem. Access to Grace’s business and financial affairs. Motive.

No. No way. Stealing money, sure—James could believe that. But killing Robin and Bryce and Grace in cold blood, after all these years? No.

“I came because I knew you’d be hearing things,” Domino said, his voice slightly raspy and his eyes full of gloom. “About me. And some things they’re saying I did.”

A chill ran through James’s bones, and he took a step back. “I heard you stole a few million from Grace,” he said. “Is that what you mean?”

Domino looked down over the edge of the bridge, his face tense and mournful. His hands were still in his pockets. “Look, James, I’m desperate. I need some help. A little cash assistance. I know it’s asking a lot at a difficult time, and I know I’ve got no right in the first place. But if I don’t get out of the country, I’ll just…I’ll just have to kill myself.”

“What?”

“I can’t go to jail, James!” Domino’s voice suddenly rose on his name and he threw back his head, his face scrunching up in a kind of childish agony. “I can’t go to jail!”

James’s breath slowly left him, and he stared at Domino in despair. “For what?”

“Bad decisions, bro!” Domino took his left hand out of his pocket again and rubbed his eyes furiously. “Gambling. It all goes back to the gambling. Once you start taking loans from the wrong people, god, there’s no way out! When my dad died, I was already in for a hundred and twenty grand. And they had me on the rack. Like, literally, they were gonna quarter me. Over a fucking poker game, can you believe that shit?”

“Did you ask Grace or Bryce for help?”

“You think they would have kept paying my retainer if they knew I was pissing it all away? Fuck no.” Domino blew out a breath. “Look, I wasn’t planning to skim. I just needed to get out of the hole. My time was up. It was life or death. So I took what I had to, to pay the sharks off. It was just, once I knew I could do that, the temptation was…” Domino pulled one hand from his pocket again. It trembled visibly as he rubbed his brow.

The cold feeling in James’s bones was turning into sharp, searing heat. His fists slowly clenched at his sides. “What’s your point?”

“I slipped up,” Domino said brokenly. “Mixed up accounts. And Robin caught me.”

Weird memories flickered up from their younger days. Watching movies with Robin and Domino while their parents drank wine and laughed into the night. Hanging out in hallways together at long, boring banquets.

“I was an idiot,” Domino said, his voice cracking. “Just one transaction, it hit his account instead of mine, and he noticed, and he figured it out. Went digging around and figured it all out. Called me over